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“In my mind I’m goin to Carolina” … a state that is near and dear to our hearts, having lived in Chapel Hill and our first grandson being born there. A state filled with history and a polite, welcoming culture. While we were there, we had the opportunity to go to downtown Fayetteville with Fort Bragg Army Base, home of the 82nd Airborne in the same town. The downtown area was walkable and filled with shops, eateries and watering holes along the historic looking streets. It was really hot when we were there and that with being a weekday left the streets fairly empty. Some cold brewskis helped us to forget how friggin hot it was. We were in the Fayetteville area for 5 days at a private property with a park like setting. Janet and I, along with the owners, a pediatrician and teacher, were the only ones there. They were gone during the day and not that they made any noise but the isolation on this exquisitely landscaped property was fantastic. We were sorry to have to leave but our pre-made plans dictated our next move. Chocowinity, NC on the banks of the Pamlico River with Washington, NC on the other side is a rural town inhabited by nice country folk. Washington commonly known as The Original Washington or Little Washington. The architecture is what you would expect from a southern town established in 1776. We enjoyed strolling along the Pamlico Riverwalk checking out the boats in the marina and restaurants with outdoor seating. The main street in the town had many antique shops and the historic Turnage Theatre. Built in 1913 as a vaudeville playhouse. It operated for 50 years before closing. The theatre was restored by the Arts Association of Pamlico and is a beautiful venue looking very much like it did in the early 1900”s. The historic town of New Bern was very interesting with several streets filled with shops, restaurants and pubs. We spent most of the day there walking around, window shopping and taking in a nice lunch. The town was founded in 1710, settled by Germans and Swiss led by Baron Christoph DeGraffenried from Bern, Switzerland. In the 1890:s Caleb Bradham, a New Bern pharmacist invented Brad’s Drink which today is known as Pepsi Cola. Ok, enough history. But what do you expect from an area filled with an abundance of it? The town is large but has a very small hometown feel. We got the impression that most of the folks walking the streets knew each other. Hey, we are tourists, so we were not part of that social click. I am sure we stood out like sore thumbs. No, I was not dressed in black nylon knee sox and sandals with shorts. Our home was an Encore RV property for two weeks built on a series of canals. It is an interesting, park like area that was hit very hard by hurricane Florence. They just recently had the place fully operational. The cleanup and retrofit was a massive undertaking. Our weather there over two weeks was extremely hot and dry. In the high nineties every single day. The two pools at the facility were a welcoming haven that we used almost every day. The evening before we left produced some intense thunderstorms complete with hail and tornado warnings. Basically, scared the crap out of us. We were in a river front watering hole and peoples phone started sounding tornado warnings. Why ours did not is a mystery to us. Like most of the folks we left. When we got into our car the radio started blaring take cover warnings and the sky opened up. By the time we got back to our motorhome, it was full blown mayhem. From the car to the rig we were completely drenched but glad to be home. We hunkered down, hoping for the best, until the storm passed. Hey, it’s all part of the journey.
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Charleston is known for her rich history, picturesque scenery, southern culture and culinary delights. Our visit to this beautiful coastal city was well worth it. I had been there a number of years ago on a business trip and told Janet I would love to go back with her as I knew she would thoroughly enjoy it. We set up our home about 20 miles away on a 35-acre rural property that we called home for a week. It was a sharp contrast from the abundance of tourists in Charleston. Having a car that we tow behind the motorhome makes it possible to live, for a short time, in off the beaten track places and still have the ability to venture into the surrounding areas and towns. Charleston, like Savannah, has a plethora of history, unique architecture, culture and food to delight the most discriminating tastes, including ours which are not that hard to please. We drove into the city and found it easy to park near the waterfront. We hoofed it around the central market area and then down toward the Rainbow District and The Battery which was filled with street after street of beautiful antebellum style homes and historic buildings. After our legs could not take anymore, we got the car and true to fashion drove very slowly, you could walk faster, up and down the streets. Aimless neighborhood surfing is one of our travel trademarks. We do that everywhere we travel, here and abroad. It is one of the best ways to soak in the architecture and local living. The popularity of major tourist areas has its pros and cons. Certainly, a boom for the local economy and all those people milling around creates its own energy. Downside is the crowds take away from the beauty of empty space. There is nothing better than walking down an architecturally spectacular street and not having to climb over folks or when you see that magical photographic shot and the masses are mixing in the whole vibe gets distorted. Ah, the challenges of having fun. If you have not been to Charleston definitely put it on your bucket list. Pack a good pair of shoes, your camera and venture out. Wow, what a beautiful historic city Savannah is. First impression is, this area is so large that walking all of the neighborhoods, especially for gimpy me, was not in the cards. We decided the best way to navigate and be able to see the different sections was a hop on hop off trolley. Yes, most definitely the right move. Savannah is laid out in a grid with each neighborhood having its own park in the center making it fairly easy to navigate. There are 15 potential stops on the hop on hop off and the narration by the drivers was informative and sometimes even comical due to the side comments made. The largest college in Savannah is, Savannah College of Art & Design which has a huge presence in the city with SCAD banners all over town. When you get into the city the first thing you are taken with is the architecture. More than 2500 buildings in the city have designated historical significance. You can find Federal, Georgian, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, Italianate, Regency, Romanesque Revival, Second French Empire and Antebellum styles throughout the city. The restorations were painstakingly done with a great deal of pride in preservation. Getting off the bus allowed us to explore some of the neighborhoods get a feel for how life was in the 17 and 1800’s. The city was founded in 1733 by General James Edward Oglethorpe, a British philanthropist. Because of the grid layout Savannah was dubbed America’s First Planned City. The city has some famous haunted houses with the Hamilton Turner House on Abercorn Street holding its status at the top. They have haunted tours and unfortunately, we did not have the time to take one but we were told they are well worth going on. Maybe on another visit (we are sure the ghosts will still be hanging out). Savannah is a foodie and adult beverage town having no open container laws so you can freely travel around the city with a drink in hand. The food choices are southern low country delights with enough choices to go around. To our surprise, Savannah has the second largest port on the east coast with many huge cargo ships arriving and leaving daily. The port is expanding and bringing large amounts of revenue to this, already, thriving city. If you have not been here you should put it on your bucket list, it is well worth the visit. We hope to return someday and explore, eat and drink more of this southern treasure. MG, the initials of Morris Garages, is a British automotive marque registered by the now defunct MG Car Company Limited, a British sports car manufacturer began in the 1920s. On our last stop in Florida we visited long time friends Jan and Rick in Yulee, a suburb of Jacksonville. The quaint town has a historic downtown and is close to Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island. Jan and Rick were gracious to let us park and live in our rig for a few days on their property. We had a nice, relaxing time with them, as always. They took us around the area giving us a chance to see a number of interesting sites along with tasting some of the local food and drink. Rick is a retired master automotive mechanic who owned and operated a renowned Volvo/Saab shop in the Central Florida area for many years. He is still actively working with a friend who collects vintage MG automobiles. Rick uses his skills to bring these, in some cases, rough vehicles back to showroom condition. He took us to the shop where the magic happens for a tour. The cars were in varying stages of reconstruction and the finished products were nothing short of breathtaking. It was hard for Janet and I to pick the one we would most like to drive around in although we did have our favorites. Jan and Rick are avid RVers in their own right having traveled to many areas throughout the country. We are hoping to hook up with them as we continue our travels to enjoy some adventures together. Our next location to explore is Savannah, GA where we are looking forward to taking in the sights, history, food and drink in this iconic southern port city. We are not going to dwell on social commentary, but Ft Lauderdale is truly a city of the have and the have nots. A far cry from the 1960’s movie, Where the Boys are, filmed there with stars Connie Francis and George Hamilton. We spent a week in this South Florida playground for the rich and famous and were taken back by the sharp separation between people with lots of dough and those barely getting by. Ok, enough about that. We had an enjoyable time strolling Las Olas Blvd doing some window shopping and sampling food and drinks from the restaurants and watering holes that line this well, known street. Janet got us visitor passes and we took advantage of the nice weather and spent two days cruising around the downtown waterways on the Jungle Queen and the Carrie B. What trip to Ft Lauderdale could be complete unless you went to the old Seminole Indian reservation, now a commercial attraction, and saw some good ole alligator wrestling. Hey, someone has to do it. They had lots of photographs of the by gone years when the village was inhabited by the Seminole tribe. I remember as a kid, coming to Florida from Jersey with my parents and sister. We took the Jungle Queen cruise and saw many of the sites depicted in the old photos. Lots of memories filled my head. Several of the highlights of our stay in the area were seeing our aunt and uncle, cousins Gene and Doris and our long time, dear friends, Jill and Mark. Unfortunately, time constraints did not allow us to see everyone in the area, but they are always in our hearts. We are fortunate to have family and friends throughout the country and the grounding that being with people you know and love along the way is satisfying to the soul. Janet and I were looking forward to moving further north on, what has been, an extensive stay in Florida. With a few more stops we will be saying goodbye to the sunshine state just in time to get away from the oppressive heat and humidity that is just around the corner. Matlacha, pronounced Mat-la-shay, is a small town next to Pine Island in the Fort Myers area on the west coast of Florida. Matlacha is an artsy enclave with pastel painted little buildings filled to the brim with art of all kinds. Yes, it is touristy, but that does not take away from the charm of this hobbit like village. Janet and I, along with Bob and JoAnne, walked along the narrow road that separated the waterway, on both sides, leading to Pine Island. We ducked into many of the art galleries along the way for a look at the crafts and also to get out of the heat and increasing humidity. One particular shop we visited had a magnificent outdoor gallery on a residential canal. It was an amazing display laid out with careful placement of the art pieces. The artist created a visual park that instantly brought smiles to our faces. We spent quite a bit of time walking the paths admiring the work displayed. Janet bought an acrylic flamingo that is a wind ornament. It fits on a thin metal pole and moves gracefully in the smallest breeze. It will make a nice outdoor mobile when we park our motor home. We ate a light dinner with some drinks at a local watering hole on the bay. The four of us sat, ate and drank until sunset. A very relaxing time was had by all. It was our last night with Bob and JoAnne until we see them again at the end of August for our trip together to Europe. Our visit to Fort Myers has been wonderfully relaxing and with great weather, before the brutal Florida heat and humidity set in, is the perfect location for Janet and me. Having our cousins Bob and JoAnne here, as bi-annual residents, is an added bonus. Our home base for the motorhome is an RV resort in the northern part of the city. The grounds are well maintained, and it has lots of trails for bike riding along with a pool and spa for cooling off and meeting some interesting folks. We feel like a minority as the majority of RVer’s here are French Canadian and, as you would imagine, French is the primary language spoken. Our command of French is limited to “French Fries”. Fort Myers has an architecturally interesting and very walkable downtown area along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. Thomas Edison had a residence and laboratory here and was responsible for revolutionizing the lighting in Fort Myers along with his wife having rows of tall palm trees planted on McGregor Avenue, with runs past the Edison Estate and Museum. We went to an art street fair in the downtown area and after some dinner, walked around people watching, art gazing and enjoying the tasteful architecture and beautiful evening weather. We are looking forward to taking a ride over to neighboring Sanibel Island and Captiva to take in the beach, shelling and the art enclave. Janet and I are feeling very comfortable in our new living environment. Just enough room for us. We have made a few modifications on the interior, converting a bunkhouse to an office and have a few ideas for further interior change as we make our home the way we want it. I did a thorough cleaning of the roof yesterday. It went smoothly and I was not out of my comfort zone. Just like when we were in our sticks and bricks, the motorhome requires its own set of maintenance routines. We have an appointment to have the engine serviced with an oil change. An oil change on your home, now that’s a new one for us. As our journey continues further south, on the west coast of Florida we had the opportunity to stay on our friends, Billy and Lisa’s property. Our dear friends have been so gracious to us making us feel at home. They had an ample area on their property for us to park our motor home and tow car. We lived in our home with the added benefit of spending quality time with them during our stay. Being long-time residents of Sarasota, they showed us how this affluent community continues to be a very desirable area for full time residents and tourists. The pristine beaches and hot spots were loaded with tourists, Janet and I among them. We had pleasant weather during our stay and in addition, it is spring break, so people were out in masses. We are extraverts but with practice you can be visible and invisible at the same time. At times, we like being by ourselves making it easy for us to acclimate in the midst of seasonal population explosion. The amount of wealth, as shown by exotic automobiles, estate type homes, high end shopping, magnificent watercraft and quality restaurants add to the mystique of this coastal city. The diverse architecture blends well to create a comfortable environment. We often wonder about the seeming, run away, environmental impact to the state. Resources are limited and the grim reality is Florida is being sucked dry by greedy developers and politicians who only see the immediate financial benefit. Hoping that care of this fragile ecosystem will not be overlooked to the point of no return. What an amazingly beautiful day exploring Tarpon Springs sponge docks and an early evening in Hudson Beach. We had been hoping the weather, here in Florida, would finally break and break it did with cool temps and sunny skies. Tarpon Springs is a Greek community on the West coast of Florida north of Clearwater Beach. A long history of sponge diving and better than the Greek Isles food make this a terrific place to stroll and enjoy all it has to offer. The streets were crowded with tourists, us among them. Janet and I had lived in this area along the beach for many years and were not strangers although we felt like tourists exploring the shops and bakeries along Dodecanese Blvd, the main street. People from all over the globe come here for the culture, food, pastries and real sea sponges along with the pristine waterfront that winds into the Gulf of Mexico. A short drive from Tarpon Springs is Hudson Beach. This very small community is on the Gulf with two restaurants, a motel and marina. Not much to see but a magnificent view of the Gulf of Mexico and spectacular sunsets to be seen. We did eat dinner their and had a good seafood boil with of mussels along with some drinks to complement the sundown. The Gulf coast of Florida has a lot of charm and does not seem as crowded and contrived as the East coast which, although not necessarily a bad thing, is like being in the Northeast with sweltering temps and humidity. We are looking forward to venturing further south along the West coast. Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida. We ventured through a maze of traffic to downtown Tampa, on the way passing the New York Yankees training stadium and Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL Tampa Bay Bucs. Having lived on the beach side south of Clearwater for many years the area is not foreign to us but there has been so much growth to this part of Florida we felt, every bit, like tourists. We have not moved our motor home in two weeks and our trek around the central west coast has been with the car we tow behind us. Lots of car driving has been part of our busy schedule. We are not keen on having a schedule, but family and friends brought us to this neck of the woods so drive we must. Well, not must just more like personal election. Every visit to Tampa should include a drive around the University of Tampa campus. One architecturally interesting building is Plant Hall, UT's central building, once housed the Tampa Bay Hotel, a resort built by Henry B. Plant in 1891, and the Moorish minarets atop the distinctive structure have long been seen as an "iconic symbol" of Tampa. Our nephew was a student there and our niece had her wedding in Plant Hall. We are very interested in architecture and whenever we travel it is an important part of our adventures. Along with the architecture comes volumes of history that helps keep structures alive to educate and keep memories alive. From city to rural settings to beaches you don’t have to drive too far, well on paper it’s not too far but in reality, the miles pile up. Just a mile from our home camp is Strong Tower Vineyard & Winery. This is, for Florida, a total surprise. When you think of Florida wine the first thing that comes to mind is awful fruit swill, not palatable wines from vitis vinifera grape. This unique find is a diamond in the rough. Beautiful, serene 12-acre property with mature vines and an owner/winemaker who knows the craft and produces very tasty wines. Florida, with its hot, wet climate and sandy, poor draining soil is far from the best for growing wine grapes. Through education and science backed by several universities in the state conditions were honed for optimum growing and production. We sampled several of the wines and settled on a Pinot Noir that was very nice. A pleasant, quiet afternoon was spent under a gazebo with a cool breeze and view of the vineyard pleasing many of our senses. We love the novelty of surprises around every corner and surprised we were. Coyote and Angela let us stay in our motor coach on their fabulous ranch property in Morriston, Fl. The magnificent location and amenities along with a relaxing setting was just what the doctor ordered. The eclectic couple gave us a complete tour and helped us get our rig situated. They are accomplished show car builders and have won many awards for their work at shows around the country. Another RV couple from N. Dakota, had their rig their as well. Janet and I were told to make sure we were outside at the beach pool and bar area, yes, it was a Caribbean setting complete with inground pool, tiki bar, outdoor living room and fire pit in the heart of equestrian country. So, at 6:30 we made our way, with a bottle of wine and our beach chairs, to the designated area on the property. What transpired was an evening of great conversation with interesting people and a cozy fire to complement our bottle of Cab Franc. Janet and I are still slapping ourselves hoping not to wake up from this most exciting dream. In a very short period of time, almost two weeks, we have traveled to and stayed in 5 states, explored some great locations and met some wonderful people. Our next two weeks will be in one location, staying in an RV resort near family and friends. It will be terrific to see everyone and catch up on our lives to date and share stories. Taking chances out of the comfort zone has always been an important part of our life and having each other to share it with gives strength and motivation to our journey. Our visit to Rome, GA was at a private 30-acre property on the out skirts of town. We had partial hook ups with electric and water. The hosts were very gracious and made us feel at home. Quiet and secluded with, with unfortunately, too much rain did not totally put a damper on our time there. We had some basic chores to do like, laundry and some marketing. When we finished it was time to explore the area. Rome is a historic town in N West GA near the Alabama boarder. Glenn Pop Warner was the football coach of UGA and during a game with UVA coached by John Heisman. A UGA player from Rome, GA was killed during the game and a memorial was erected to him, Warner and Heisman in the town center. Glenn Warner went on to become famous for starting POP Warner football and John Heisman had the famous Heisman Trophy named after him.
The town has a very large and thriving downtown with Broad Street at the center as well as the Berry College Campus and the Atlanta Braves Farm team stadium. Many interesting shops and eateries line both sides of the street. Walking up one side and down the other is a good mile. We ate some Thai food for lunch and strolled in the not so great weather. Being in the town was an experience that made us realize we probably would not have gone there had it not been for our off the beaten path travels. Pushing forward to warmer weather for the winter is our initial goal and Rome was just another step as we “follow the yellow brick road”. Over the past 6 months we read RV Life by Julie and Marc Bennett, watched countless RV YouTubes, spoke to other part and full time RVers and did our own planning. How can one ever be ready for a major lifestyle change without a period of adjustment? Almost all of the credible information we absorbed told us to go slow, in our own backyard and work out the kinks. Well, extreme winter weather, selling our home, taking possession of our motor coach and being typical, Janet and David we dove in head first and left Grand Rapids headed to our winter destination, Florida. Our first stop was Indianapolis, IN. Weather continued to suck with very cold temps, ice and snow. Next stop Nashville, TN awaiting us with not so cold temps but torrents of rain. So much so that there were major flood warnings for the Cumberland River. Our friend John said that our coach is an arc and my thought was, I must be Noah. We spent three days in Music City enjoying a bit of what this city is famous for. Best takeaway, we had time to get used to our new home. What’s it like to drive a 23,000 lb. motor home, flat towing an SUV behind for a total of 50 ft down the highway? The amount of concentration is nothing short of tense. There is a feeling of being big even when being alongside a semi-truck. With that length and a height of 12 ft we are among the largest rolling beasts on the road. We are fortunate to have a good amount of space for our stuff with pass-through compartments below and a comfortable layout on the interior giving us comfort in our traveling home. Getting familiar with the mechanical and electronic systems was not as daunting as we had imagined. Once in Nashville we were able to de-winterize the rig. With tanks flushed, dual power on for our water heater, furnaces and refrigerator/freezer we were all set to begin living like human beings. First stop in Nashville was a Kroger’s supermarket where we shopped for food and some other household necessities. Being careful about not overloading or exceeding weight restrictions we did not stock up the same way we did in our sticks and bricks life. But as we did before cooking, rather than eating out is an important part of the way we live. We did manage to put 2 cases of wine in one of the storage compartments from our collection, which has dwindled significantly. Ah, the sacrifices of mobile adventure. Our plan is to work our way down to Florida to see family and friends throughout the state along with lots of just Janet and David time for living our regular lives and exploring. Reality is, we are not on vacation, just moving our home around the country. We still have that same obligations and routines as before, just like others, but at the same time we have the freedom to enjoy new locations, experiences and people wherever the roads take us. Travel has been an important part of lives and now we can do and enjoy it more often. Most importantly, we are not on any schedule and destinations are, for now, loosely planned. Janet and I are happy to be feathers in the wind. “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain” … They were actually talking about the state of Tennessee. We and a good portion of long-time residents we spoke to have never seen the amount of rain that fell from the skies with unrelenting consistency. At times rain was falling at a rate of 7” per day. Now folks, that’s a lot of water. Being fulltime, RV newbies we are on a huge learning curve. Throw in a monsoon and the level of stress becomes magnified to immeasurable heights. Being semi sane individuals, we resigned ourselves, with some difficulty, that this stinking weather would pass. Dodging land oceans of water, we did manage to enjoy a bit of Nashville, a visit with our cousins, a Jack Daniels Distillery tour and getting used to our new mobile home. Now, that’s a lot to swallow, even for the lot of us. Under non-twilight zone circumstances, Tennessee is a visually and culturally interesting State. Overall our time spent there was not so bad. As we push forward towards Florida, we left Tennessee after a few days and headed into Georgia via Alabama. The highway and rural mountain road scenery driving down is very pleasant. Our destination in Georgia for a few days is a private property with 30 secluded acres where we are boondocking. Janet and I like the idea of living off the grid rather than going from one RV park to another. Not that we are introverts, on the contrary we are true Jersey extraverts but being away from the masses is very appealing to us. Our plan is to mix things up, taking advantage of the amenities at RV resorts and off grid boondocking. Hey, we are newer than new to this lifestyle so the old adage “throw plenty of shit on the wall and see what sticks” is the only way for us to learn what works best. As every experience rings true with a song, our limited exploring so far speaks Simon and Garfunkel’s song America – “All come to look for America” and so we are. |
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October 2022
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